Buy a ticket to see the Reds this season and you’ll get a day pass for the streetcar as well.

Starting Wednesday, a Reds ticket is good for free rides on the Cincinnati Bell Connector. Whatever day your ticket is for, you can ride the streetcar for free that day. Just have your game ticket ready (digital or physical) to show the fare inspector.

The hope is that fans will use the streetcar to visit bars, restaurants and other Downtown and Over-the-Rhine attractions on game days.

“By making the streetcar free on game days with a paid ticket, it’s our way to give back and thank Cincinnati for the tremendous success we’ve had at our Downtown Cincinnati hardware store," Matt Woods, owner of Woods Hardware, said in a news release. " Go Reds!”

Supporters have said since the streetcar’s launch in 2016 that rides should be free. They point to Kansas City, which has a streetcar line similar to Cincinnati’s except it’s free to ride.

Making the streetcar permanently free would require renegotiating the contracts between the city, which owns the streetcar, Cincinnati Metro, which oversees it, and Transdev, the company Metro hired to run it.

Plus, if the streetcar is free, that means no revenue from fares. In March, the streetcar brought in $23,161 from fares – less than 9 percent of the overall revenue for that month and roughly $5,000 short of what was budgeted.

The Reds promotion cost about $12,000 overall, paid for by Woods Hardware – which sits close to the streetcar route – said interim streetcar director Travis Jeric. It’s for the rest of the regular season, which includes about 70 more home games.

“This is an exciting day for the Cincinnati Bell Connector, the City of Cincinnati and baseball fans everywhere,” Jeric said. “The Connector provides easy and free access for baseball fans visiting Great American Ball Park, whether they’re coming from Hyde Park, Carthage, Green Township or Chicago.”

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At one point, streetcars were the dominant form of public transportation in Cincinnati.
Hannah Sparling, hsparling@enquirer.com